RX MURDER - Content

RX MURDER

For Hicksflicks.com, March 6, 2015

A lot of little gems have lately been making their way across the pond, English movies from the 1950s that no one has seen here in more than 60 years. Actually, not many moviegoers saw them in theaters.

But thanks to a few DVD labels that have been gathering obscure oldies for domestic release, they seem to be showing up with some regularity these days.

Such a film is “Rx Murder” (aka “Prescription for Murder,” 1958, b/w), a nifty low-budget thriller now on the burn-on-demand Fox Cinema Archives label.

And though Fox has a reputation for using pan-and-scan prints for its “Archive” DVD releases, this one is in its original widescreen format.

Rick Jason, left, and Marius Goring, 'Rx Murder'

American thespian Rick Jason stars, an actor known mainly for his many guest appearances on U.S. television programs from the early 1950s through the late 1980s.

Jason has the lead role here as an American that shows up in a seaside boarding house for the wealthy.

He is ostensibly just another resident looking for rest and relaxation, but in reality he is a doctor whose ex-wife died mysteriously at the institution, and he’s come to learn the circumstances.

Jason gets some help from a local busybody (Mary Marrall, who fairly steals the picture) and discovers that his wife’s second husband is a much-married physician (Marius Goring) that looks after residents with health issues — and whose wives all seem to die mysteriously. Could it be the “medicine” he gives them?

Marius Goring, Lisa Gastoni,'Rx Murder'

As Jason investigates it appears that Dr. Death has his eye on his next victim, a pretty young thing (Lisa Gastoni) that just happens to be in the room next to Jason’s, and whom Jason finds himself attracted to. Can he uncover the truth before it’s too late?

There’s nothing deep here, not that there needs to be. This is just one more in a long string of B-movie thrillers that were churned out almost weekly both stateside and in England.

But it’s a nifty little mystery for fans of the genre and it speeds along through its brief running time (under 90 minutes).